Ex-cop sentenced to jail

Robert Longdon expresses remorse



Robert Longdon

Robert Longdon

Robert Longdon appeared in Ventura County court Tuesday morning, clean-shaven and in a gray button-down shirt and black dress pants, awaiting his sentencing.

Standing beside defense attorney William Hadden, the former Simi Valley police officer’s demeanor was solemn as Ventura County Judge Bruce Young read through four counts of grand theft and one count of attempted grand theft, all felonies.

Longdon had pleaded no contest July 10 to the charges, which stem from a seven-month investigation conducted by the Ventura County district attorney’s office during which prosecutors discovered the cop had billed $102,138 for hours between March 2014 and September 2017 that he did not actually work. The officer resigned March 6, the day he turned himself in to the D.A.’s office.

Addressing Longdon, Young said he doesn’t necessarily “subscribe to the notion that law enforcement is required to live to a higher standard” but that the officer’s actions have consequences.

“These kinds of things have a rippling effect, like a stone thrown in a lake, (and) anything that damages the trust and respect individual citizens have in law enforcement hurts all law enforcement,” Young said.

“I’m not going to treat you any differently than any other individual who’s come before me . . . but financial needs are no excuse for breaking the law,” he continued. “You’ve spent a lot of time arresting people who had that attitude, and now you find yourself in those shoes.”

Young then handed down a sentence of 300 days in county jail and 36 months of felony probation. Since convicted felons are not permitted to carry or own weapons, Longdon was ordered to transfer ownership of any firearms to a family member.

The judge planned to order Longdon to pay restitution, but as of the start of Tuesday’s sentencing, the officer had repaid the $102,138 in full.

Longdon must report to the Ventura County Main Jail on Nov. 13 to begin his jail sentence.

Before being sentenced, Longdon accepted responsibility for his actions, saying there’s no excuse for his “reprehensive” behavior.

“I brought shame and embarrassment not only to myself but to my profession, my fellow officers, my city and especially my family,” he said at the sentencing.

“I have made restitution to start again, living the life of doing the right thing, (but) I know my remorse and restitution is not enough,” he continued. “Whatever the consequences, I accept them, as I have brought them upon myself.”

Thomas Frye, the deputy district attorney handling the case, said the sentence was fair overall, but he would have liked to have seen more jail time.

“The crux of the concern is that (Longdon) was a peace officer, and with that he was imbued with a great level of authority and power and afforded a great deal of trust,” Frye told the Simi Valley Acorn after the hearing. “He violated that trust by stealing from the city and ultimately the taxpayers.”

‘Justice was served’

Longdon joined SVPD in 2008 after serving with the Los Angeles Police Department for five years. He was named SVPD’s Officer of the Year in 2012.

Simi Valley Police Chief David Livingstone said Tuesday that Longdon’s sentence brings the department a sense of closure for what he describes as “embarrassing and disappointing behavior by a police officer who is supposed to uphold the law.”

“All of us feel like justice was served and it shows that . . . there are consequences; there are no special circumstances allowed for someone just because they’re a police officer,” Livingstone said.

Longdon falsified 61 10-hour shifts and added hours to the shifts he did work, Frye previously told the Simi Valley Acorn.

The discrepancies were discovered in August 2017 when a watch commander was verifying hours and noticed Longdon had put in time he did not work. Further investigation by SVPD management revealed a pattern of time-sheet fraud, and the district attorney was contacted.

An internal audit of all time sheets concluded that Longdon was the sole violator, the chief said. In 2017, before the police officer’s actions were discovered, Livingstone had already started a two-step process requiring officers to get overtime pre-approved and have it verified afterward.

“I’m not going to shy away from the fact that (Longdon) did what he did because we had an honor-based system,” the chief said.

“As an organization, we wish we would’ve discovered this much earlier. But we caught it and turned it over to the district attorney immediately, regardless of what the outcome might be.”

Future benefits

Longdon has not been receiving a paycheck from the city since his resignation, and his conduct may affect his future pension benefits.

Longdon’s base salary in 2017 was around $98,900, plus about $41,000 in benefits, according to Transparent California. He also received roughly $33,200 in overtime and other pay.

Benefits for city employees, including police officers, come from the California Public Employees Retirement System, or CalPERS, the state’s retirement fund.

To be eligible to receive those funds, an employee must be at least 50 years old and have worked for five years with their employer, CalPERS spokesperson Amy Morgan said.

Longdon wouldn’t be eligible to receive his pension until the age of 50, but because he committed a felony during his normal job duties, he could lose a portion of those benefits, Morgan said.

In Longdon’s case, she said, he could forfeit any benefits acquired over the four years that he stole overtime money.